Method and device fore reproducing information

ABSTRACT

A system for presenting information regarding an object provided within a plurality of information sources to a user or a presentation means depending on a location of the user or the presentation means includes a means for determining the location, a means for selecting the information to be presented depending on the determined location and on one or several pre-settable selection criteria defining an information source from the plurality of information sources, and a means for outputting the information to be presented.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to the presentation of informationregarding an object and in particular to the location-dependentpresentation of information, like for example of location-dependentinformation to a car driver.

[0003] 2. Description of Prior Art

[0004] Today, navigation systems are known, wherein a user enters adestination and is led to this destination by the navigation system. Inthe background such navigation systems are mostly based on proprietaryand system specific vector cards, respectively. Although the primarytask of these navigation systems is leading the user to the destination,there are also navigation systems providing additional information forindividual objects, like for example the locations of petrol stations.With these systems, the allocation of these additional information tothe individual objects and/or their positioning is based on therepresentation within the proprietary vector card data. A simpleextension by new objects by the user or a third party is therefore verycost and time consuming without knowing the encoding of the cardmaterial.

[0005] DE 19747745 A1 describes an interactive guidance system formuseums or exhibitions. FIG. 5 shows a schematical diagram forillustrating this system. A position determination means 10 is used inorder to determine the location of a visitor in the museum. A data base20 is provided in order to provide information 20 a, 20 b, 20 c, 20 d,20 e, and 20 f, respectively, for each object (exhibit) within themuseum at the positions A, B, C, D, E, F, respectively. The information20 a-20 f for the different exhibits are subdivided into informationaspects, like e.g. the epoch, the artist, the interpretation and thematerials used for the exhibit, and is graded according to the level ofthe required knowledge of the museum visitor. The system monitors thereactions of the museum visitor to the hitherto presented informationfor the exhibits and uses the detected reactions for determining theknowledge of the museum visitor and the information aspects preferred bythe visitor using a learning algorithm. The learning algorithm thencauses the information aspects of the respective exhibit to be presentedto the museum visitor after a certain learning period, which correspondsto the determined preferences, i.e. considering the determinedknowledge.

[0006] It is a disadvantage of this system that it only comprises aphysically limited application area, like for example a museum or acity. Additionally, the information is only provided by one informationsource, which only provides information of a special kind. A user isfurther not able to add additional information, but this is reserved tothe operator of the guidance system, like for example the museum.

[0007] DE 19810173 A1 refers to a navigation system for vehiclescomprising a data basis preferably available in the form of a data baseand comprising a device for determining a location and a destination,wherein using the location and the destination and using the roadinformation stored in the data basis a driving route may be calculated.The complete route planning is based on one data basis, in which theroad network is stored relating to a few number of points. The selectedpoints are stored within the site data basis. For each point only itsposition and its distance to other points and the information whether itis a crossing point is stored. The driver of the vehicle is informedabout the driving routes using a concatenated list of these pointsstored within the site data basis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] It is the object of the present invention to provide an improvedsystem for presenting information regarding an object, which areprovided within a plurality of information sources, to a user or apresentation means depending on a location of the user or thepresentation means, which does not comprise the restrictions of the userin connection with the available information.

[0009] In accordance with a first aspect of the invention this object isachieved by method for presenting information regarding an object from aplurality of information provided within a plurality of informationsources to a user or a presentation means depending on a location of theuser or the presentation means. The method comprises determining thelocation, selecting a management part from a plurality of managementparts, each of which comprises a reference to one of the plurality ofinformation sources, a position indication and one or severalpre-settable selection criteria, depending on the determined locationand on the one or the several pre-settable selection criteria of theplurality of management parts, and outputting the information providedwithin the information source which the reference of the selectedmanagement part refers to. The selection criteria of the plurality ofinformation sources includes a category and a weighting value isassociate-able to each category of the plurality of management parts,wherein the categories are organised in a tree structure and wherein aweighting is determined based on the weightings within the treestructure and wherein the step of selecting comprises the selection of amanagement part from the plurality of management parts depending on theweightings of the plurality of management parts

[0010] In accordance with a second aspect of the invention this objectis achieved by device for presenting information regarding an objectfrom a plurality of information, provided within a plurality ofinformation sources to a user or a presentation means depending on alocation of the user or the presentation means. The device comprises alocation detection device for determining the location. Furthermore aprocessor for selecting a management part from a plurality of managementparts is provided each of which comprises a reference to one of theplurality of information sources, a position indication and one orseveral pre-settable selection criteria, depending on the determinedlocation and on the one or several pre-settable selection criteria ofthe plurality of management parts. An information outputting deviceoutputs the information provided within the information source which thereference of the selected management part refers to. The selectioncriteria of the plurality of information sources includes a category andeach category of the plurality of management parts may be associatedwith a weighting value and wherein the categories are organised in atree structure, wherein a weighting is determined based on theweightings within the tree structure, and wherein the step of selectingcomprises a selection of a management part from the plurality ofmanagement parts depending on the weightings of the plurality ofmanagement parts.

[0011] According to one embodiment the selection criteria for theobject, its position specification and if applicable the indication to adesired information source are filed within a management part, whereinthe selection criteria include a category and similar things. Theinformation source is either an external information source, for examplea broadcasting station or an internet address, which is accessed viacorresponding transfer media, or an internal data source, for exampledata on CDs within a car, wherein the reference specification within themanagement part refers to one or several external or internalinformation sources in which the desired information regarding theobjects are filed. The category indicates the type of the object forwhich information is to be presented (e.g. nature, music, etc.).

[0012] According to one preferred embodiment, a plurality of weightedhierarchically structured categories may be set weightedly within theselection criteria so that for one location whose position wasdetermined the information about an object is output whose categoriescomprise the highest weighting within the category hierarchy.

[0013] In order to simplify processing, like for example extending theavailable information, all object-relevant indications are filed withinthe management part. The management part contains selection criteria,i.e. indications about the category to which the information isallocated, about the reference to the information source and about theposition. The management part may contain additional indications withinthe selection criteria, e.g. the relative importance of the informationor the maximum desired repeatability of the same. According to oneembodiment an author writes the management part for a plurality ofdesired information in any order into an ASCII file using apredetermined syntax. Hereby the user is allowed an easy processing ofthe management part even during run time. Additionally, pre-settableselection parameters may be provided, for example in order to define therelation between the position associated with an information and thedetermined location of the user, which needs to be met in order to causethe selection of the corresponding information, like for example amaximum distance between the filed position and the actual location. Forexample, only information are then output to the user referring to aposition which comprises a pre-settable relation to the determinedlocation of the user and which additionally comprised the relativelyhighest weighting. It is an advantage of the invention that themanagement part may be created/changed also by a user of the system dueto its simple construction.

[0014] It is an advantage of the present invention that the area of useof a system which realizes the inventive method and the inventive deviceis not limited, i.e. it may be used outside as well as within rooms,wherein the extension of the application area is almost unlimited. Thesystem is further not limited to certain fields, like for exampletourism. Tourist as well as historic information may for example berepresented by the completely freely hierarchically structuredcategorization of information as well as by locations of an enterpriseor locally relevant pieces of music. In particular, the freecategorization facilitates that the user has more freedom in subdividinginformation. Compared to the known guidance system it is possible to addfurther information sources, for example data bases, in order toincrease the information range. Additionally, the already presentinformation may either be initialised at the beginning and furtherinformation may be added during runtime. Apart from that, the type ofprovision of the management part is freely selectable. The storage ofinformation within internal information sources on data carriers (forexample CDs or Cassettes, exchangeable electronic read-only memories orfirmly anchored within a pre-configured overall system) is possible, forexample, wherein the associated management parts may also be stored onthe data carriers or be associated with the same, whereby an informationunit consisting of the information part (internal information source)and management part is formed. The information may also come fromexternal information sources, from which data is transmitted viawireless or wire-bonded media, like for example computer networks orbroadcasting systems (for example the DAB). In this case an informationunit is formed from the information part (external information source)and the management part. The management part is stored during the systemrun. The system can at any time be supplemented by further managementparts. Further, also external and internal information sources may bedetermined within the information part of the information unit.

[0015] It is an advantage of the invention that a rearrangement, achange or a completion of the management parts by the user is easilypossible at any time.

[0016] Additionally, the system needs no proprietary illustration formatfor position indication, but a geographic standard coordinate system maybe used. The system may work with both two-dimensional andthree-dimensional coordinate values.

[0017] In contrast to the known guidance system according to the presentinvention, the weighting of the categories may at any time be performedwith immediate effect. This way, first of all a cost and time consuminglearning algorithm is omitted, whereby the system complexity is reduced,and secondly a transition time which is necessary until the guidancesystem has adjusted to a change of the preference of the user. Apartfrom that, the present invention is not restricted to the informationcontent of an individual data base but can rather access all availablemultimedia data, like for example the internet, radio broadcasting, CDs.

[0018] In contrast to the known guidance system a user of the inventivesystem is not restricted concerning the selection of information aspectsregarding an exhibit. The problems in connection with lackingflexibility and slow adaptation of the guidance system are prevented.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In the following, preferred embodiments of the present inventionare described referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0020]FIG. 1A shows a schematic illustration of an information unit,which is used according to one embodiment of the invention for theselection of information and for the indication of the informationsources;

[0021]FIG. 1B shows an example for a management part of an informationunit which is used according to one embodiment of the invention for theselection of information and for the indication of the informationsources;

[0022]FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of an inventive device for thepresentation of information;

[0023]FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the inventive device for thepresentation of information;

[0024]FIG. 4 shows a block diagram for the selection means of the deviceof FIG. 3; and

[0025]FIG. 5 shows a guidance system according to the prior art.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Before preferred embodiments of the present invention aredescribed in more detail in the following, subsequently a description ofthe necessary indications to be determined beforehand is performedreferring to FIG. 1A in order to select the desired informationregarding an object depending on a geographical position and on theselection criteria.

[0027]FIG. 1A shows the construction of an information unit 100,including an information part 102 and a management part 104. Themanagement part 102 consists of a list 106 of indications comprising aplurality of selection criteria 110 next to the position 108 in theillustrated embodiment, including a category, a reference to theinformation source as it is illustrated by the dashed arrow 112, anindication of the relative importance of the information and anindication about how often at maximum the information may be presentedwithin a predetermined period of time. It is indicated that the givenselection criteria are only exemplary. Depending on the area of use ofthe system a plurality of other selection criteria may be determined.

[0028] Further, a short indication 114 may be filed within themanagement part, for example containing a title and a short descriptionof the object (e.g. a building), together with an address, for example apostal address or an internet address, via which the user may order/fetch further information concerning the object independent of thesystem. These indications may optionally be used as a replacement forexternal information sources.

[0029] The management part may contain a reference to generalinformation sources (CDs with background music, broadcasting stations),which are accessed when the system cannot determine a position (the caris for example in a tunnel), when no information source is available orno object has been selected for the location, i.e. no object-specificinformation may be output.

[0030] The information part 102 includes the at least one informationsource 116, i.e. the site at which the desired information regarding theobject is filed. The information source may be an internal informationsource which is stored together with the management part 102, e.g. onCDs, hard disk etc. within a car or a PC. The information source mayalso be an external information source, e.g. data bases, directlyreferenced files which are accessed via remote connections, internetaddresses or radio programs which are arranged spaced apart from themanagement part.

[0031] In one embodiment it may be the case that a position of alocation may not be determined, as a car is for example located within atunnel or no information objects are available for the determinedlocation of the user according to the geographical selection criteria(position). For this case objects containing no location indicationwithin their management part (position), e.g. break music,location-independent background information, may be defined. Theselection is then made from this group of objects.

[0032] Using FIG. 1B an example for a management part is described inmore detail in the following.

[0033] For the creation of a management part, also called objectdescription file, general rules apply. These are:

[0034] Empty lines are ignored.

[0035] Comment lines starts with the character “;”, “#”, or with a spacecharacter.

[0036] Mutated vowels and special characters are encoded according tothe ANSI character set “Western”, (i.e.: ISO 8859/1).

[0037] Space characters within texts are admissible.

[0038] Data field designators (“title”, “description”, “address” etc.)need to be placed at the beginning of a text line; Capitalization is notdifferentiated.

[0039] Data field designators and data are separated by a “=”; anynumber of space characters before and after the “=” are admissible.

[0040] All data of a data field must be in one line;

[0041] Line foldings within a data field are not admissible.

[0042] Line foldings for outputting a character chain are encoded by“\n”.

EXAMPLE Description=line 1\nline 2\nline 3

[0043] For the differentiation of control characters the“backslash”-character “\” must be written as “\\”.

[0044] A valid object description file must additionally have thefollowing characteristics:

[0045] The file name must have the ending “.umi”; capitalization is notdifferentiated.

[0046] The first valid data line (without comments and empty lines) ofthe object description file must contain the text “UMIS ObjectInformation File”; The correct capitalization is to be obeyed! 1

[0047] The first valid data line (without comments and empty lines)needs to contain the text “---END---”; correct capitalization is to beobeyed!

[0048] The data field “version” (at any place within the file) needs tohave the character chain “1.0” for the present first implementation ofUMIS. 2

[0049] In the following, a short description of the task of each datafield is given. Additionally, the individual rules which apply forcertain data fields are illustrated.

[0050] Title

[0051] This data field serves for indicating a short title for therespective object.

[0052] The above described general rules for the encoding of mutatedvowels apply.

[0053] Control characters for the line folding during output (“\n”) aretechnically possible, their use in the title is however not advisable.

[0054] Description

[0055] Here, a detailed description of the object may be given. The useof important key words is to be observed, as this field together withthe data fields “title” and “address” is evaluated for a planned searchfunction on all detected objects.

[0056] The general rules for the encoding of mutated vowels and linespacings apply.

[0057] Address

[0058] This data set is to give the user the possibility toindependently obtain further information about the present object. Thismay for example be achieved by the indication of the complete postaladdress or an internet address.

[0059] The general rules for the encoding of mutated vowels and linespacings apply.

[0060] Category

[0061] Each object must be associated with a unique path through thecategory hierarchy. At least one category stage is to be indicated.

[0062] The general rules for the encoding of mutated vowels apply.

[0063] Empty spacings within category names are admissible.

[0064] The hierarchy levels are separated from each other by thecharacter chain “\n”. The indication of the code for displaying a linefolding within a category name (also “\n”) is therefore not possible.

[0065] Empty spacings around the hierarchy separation code (“\n”) areignored.

[0066] The depth of the used hierarchy levels may differ from object toobject.

[0067] As the internal category tree is built up dynamically using thisdata field, homophonic writing is to be obeyed (“Laub-Baum” is adifferent category to “Laub-baum”)!

[0068] Example: Category=Top-Cat.-Name \n Cat.-Name \n sub-Cat.-Name

[0069] Position

[0070] The indication of the position is performed in geographicalstandard coordinates (degree of longitude and latitude).

[0071] Any number of position indications for an object may be entered.Each additional position indication internally generates a uniqueobject.

[0072] A position indication must be enclosed by round parenthesis.Separation characters between the parenthesized expressions are optionaland arbitrary.

[0073] Each coordinate consists of the parts arc degree (including“*”)+arc minutes (including “′”)+arc seconds (including “″”)+anindicator for North (“N”) and\or South (“S”) or East (“E”) and/or West(“W”) (in this order).

[0074] For each coordinate at least one of the three possible arcmeasure indications and the associated indicator for the direction mustbe indicated.

[0075] The order of indication of the horizontal and vertical coordinateis optional.

[0076] The separation character between the two coordinates is optionaland arbitrary.

[0077] Each arc measure indication consists of figures and optionally a“.” as a decimal separation character. Negative values are not possible.

[0078] Added up, the values for degrees, minutes and seconds of eachcoordinate must not exceed the value of 180.0° (East/West) and/or 90.0°(North/South).

[0079] If the indication of a position is omitted or if the specialcoordinate pair (90*s, 180*w) is included in the list of positions, thenthe object is detected as a “non positioned object”. These specialobjects are always then offered for selection when no objects with afirmly determined position indication are available.

[0080] The two valid position indications illustrated in FIG. 1B explainthe flexibility of the required writing.

[0081] Importance

[0082] This value describes the relative importance of the objects inrelation to the other available objects.

[0083] Objects with a higher importance are preferably selected.

[0084] The indication requires an integer positive value and should notexceed 10.000.

[0085] If a definition of importance is omitted, the default value of 1is assumed.

[0086] MaxRepetition

[0087] This data field defines a maximum admissible number ofrepetitions for the object.

[0088] The indication requires an integer positive value and should notexceed 10.000.

[0089] Die indication 0 stands for an unlimited number of possiblerepetitions.

[0090] If a definition of the maximum repetition number is omitted, thestandard value of 0 is assumed.

[0091] MediaFolder

[0092] The mediaFolder describes the folder in which the following audioand HTML pages are filed.

[0093] The indication of the folder may be absolute (e.g. “C:\MediaFolder” or \\computerX\disk1\folderABC) or relative to the presentfolder in which the object description file is located (e.g.“.\..\Media2”)

[0094] If an indication is omitted or if the indicated folder cannot befound, then the folder is used in which the object description file islocated.

[0095] SoundFileName

[0096] This is the file name of the audio file, which is to be presentedwith a successful selection of objects.

[0097] If an indication is omitted or if the indicated file cannot befound, it will be tried to find the default audio file “content.mp3”.

[0098] First of all, it is examined whether it seems to be a valid URL.If this is not the case, it is examined whether the file name includes acomplete path within the local (network) file system and whether thisfile exists. If this is also not the case, the file is searched forwithin the folder, which was specified by the indication MediaFolder.After that, the directory is examined in which the object descriptionfile itself is located.

[0099] SoundFileSize

[0100] This indication informs the system about the size of the audiofile in bytes.

[0101] This indication is provided in order to ensure the completereception of audio data during the right time of the system. In thepresent implementation it is, however, not evaluated and may thereforebe omitted.

[0102] HTMLFileName

[0103] This is the file name of the HTML file, which is to be indicatedwith a successful selection of the object.

[0104] If an indication is omitted or if the indicated file cannot befound, it is tried to find the standard HTML file “index.html”.

[0105] The same rules apply for the search of this file as well as theSoundFileName.

[0106] NoInterruption

[0107] By indicating the value “1”, the interruption of the presentationof the object is forbidden (practical with “non positioned objects”).

[0108] If no indication is performed or if a value unequal “1” isentered, the user definable defaults for the interruptability of“unpositioned objects” apply.

[0109] This data field is for example provided for the case that generalinformation about a region is to be presented whose interruption theauthor wants to prevent in any case.

[0110] For each object which is to be detected by UMIS during systemstart-up, an object description file needs to be created. In theconception of the used file format special emphasis was put on thesimple creatability of the files. Both, the generation as well as theinsight into the contents of a file should be possible withoutproprietary utilities.

[0111] Through the divisioning of the object descriptions—each objecthas its individual description file—the possibility for an easy exchangeand an uncomplicated re-arrangement of objects with regard to a projectis given. Apart from that, during the runtime of the system new objectsmay be received, evaluated and added to the internal structures withoutproblems.

[0112] Further, the combination possibilities of the description files,objects and multimedia data is to be emphasized: each description filemay contain several positions and therefore individual objects. At thesame time several object description files may share the same multimediacontents through the separation of description file and contents.

[0113] In FIG. 2 a first embodiment of the inventive device for apresentation of information is described.

[0114] The device includes a position determination means 200, like forexample a GPS receiver, a memory 202 storing a management part or aplurality of management parts VTs (FIG. 1A), wherein an adaptation ofthe selection criteria within the management parts, an adding ordeleting of management parts by the user is possible, as it is indicatedby arrow 204, a selection means 206 and an output means 208. Theposition determination means 200 is connected to the selection means 206and delivers information to the same regarding the geographicallocation. An output of the selection means 206 is connected to an inputof the output means 208 in order to output the information to bepresented to the output means 208. Within the memory 202 a plurality ofinformation sources 210 a, 210 b, 210 c are stored containinginformation about fixed objects A, B, C, D, and E (buildings,restaurants, nature or others) contained within the management parts. Itis further illustrated in FIG. 2 that a further information source 210 dis provided which is not filed within the memory 202. The informationsource 210 d is an external information source containing informationwhich is accessed via a corresponding remote transmission depending onthe selection criteria.

[0115] Instead of the above described configuration of informationsources any combination of external and internal information sources ispossible. Further, only internal information sources or only externalinformation sources may be used, wherein in the latter case basicallyonly the management parts are filed within the memory.

[0116] It is shown as an example in FIG. 2, that the information source210 a contains information data regarding object C, the informationsource 210 b contains information data regarding object D, theinformation source 210 c contains information data regarding the objectsC and B and the information source 210 d contains information dataregarding the object A and B.

[0117] The information sources 210 a to 210 d contain differentinformation data for the different objects A to D (see e.g. also FIG. 1Aat 112). One object may for example be a dome or another famous buildingin a place, wherein the pre-settable categories are associated withevery object A to D in the management part. The object A may for examplerefer to the category “music”, while the objects B, C and D refer to thecategories “companies”, “restaurants” and “theatre”. The informationsource 210 a for example contains a piece of music.

[0118] The selection criteria defining the selection of objects from theplurality of information objects reported to the system by themanagement parts have been pre-set by the user or by the distributor,may however also be changed during the runtime of the device. The userthen selects a selection criterion (arrow 204), e.g. the category, inorder to change its weighting. Using the geographical position anddepending on the selection criteria the memory 202 is accessed via theselection means 206 and the corresponding information regarding theobject are selected. The information to be presented are output to theoutput means 208 by the selection means 206.

[0119] The position determination means 200 may be any device fordetermining the geographical position of the user, e.g. a GPS system ora mobile telephone. An especially provided and/or dedicated hardware ora cooperating or integrated software, such as a navigation system may beprovided in order to provide the location information of the selectionmeans 206 in geographical standard coordinates, such as within the GaussKruger system, the geographical standard coordinate system or in a NMEA0183-conform format and in order to provide additional information, likee.g. about the movement direction and the speed of the user. Althoughthe output of the coordinates of the location within the standardcoordinate system is preferred, also other coordinate formats arepossible.

[0120] The information may contain video data, image data, audio data ormultimedia data, while within the management part a reference, e.g.internet address or local data references, is contained indicating wherethe respective information is filed. Within the management part 104 forexample the indication of an internet address may be contained at whichan audio file is provided containing the piece of music in an encodedform. In this case, the respective information unit is stored separatelyaccording to information part and management part on different physicalunits. The audio data is stored on an internet server (e.g. informationsource 210 d), and the associated internet address is stored within thememory 202. On the other hand, information units of differentinformation sources may be stored within the same physical memory. Forexample, the management parts of all information units may be storedwithin the memory 202, while the respective information part is storedin any other memory. The information part is for example stored on datacarriers, electronic exchangeable read only memories and is availablethrough the transmission of data through wireless or wire-bonded media,like for example computer networks or broadcasting systems.

[0121] In the following, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a furtherembodiment of the present invention is described, wherein managementparts may be modified, deleted or added. In FIGS. 3 and 4 elementsalready described referring to FIG. 2 are designated with like referencenumerals.

[0122] In contrast to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the deviceaccording to FIG. 3 includes an input means 212 for inputting additionalcriteria, an input means 214 for controlling the type of illustration,an output control means 216, a plurality of output means 208 a and 208b, a means 218 for adding, changing and deleting management parts and/orinformation parts and an input means 220 for inputting weightings.

[0123] The input means 220 for inputting weightings by the user may forexample include a keyboard or a voice controller connected to the memory202 and through which the user is able to change the weightings of thecategories.

[0124] The input means 212 and 214 for inputting additional criteriaand/or for controlling the type of illustration by the user may furtherinclude keyboards. The input means 212, 214 and 220 preferably use thesame keyboard. The input means 212 is connected to the memory 202,whereas the input means 214 is connected to the output control means216, which is again connected to the output means 208. The outputcontrol means 216 receives the information to be presented at a furtherinput of the selection means 206.

[0125] The means 218 for adding, changing and deleting management partsand/or information parts may further include a keyboard through whichthe user is able to add further selection criteria to the managementpart of an object (FIG. 1A) and further management parts for new objectswithin the memory 202. The means 218 may consist of a computer and asuitable data transmission means, like e.g. a data carrier or aninfrared interface. The list is stored within the memory 202 accessiblefor the selection means 206. Through the means 218, the content of themanagement parts may be completed, changed or reduced. All availablemanagement parts are automatically detected when starting the system. Iffurther management parts are added during runtime, these are immediatelyavailable for the next selection process.

[0126] The functioning of the device illustrated in FIG. 3 is nowdescribed referring to an example, wherein the device is built into thecar of the user. Hereby, the means 200 is connected to the GPS receiverof the car, wherein the input means 212, 214 and 220 are implementedthrough a keyboard field at the dashboard or by suitable input devicesat the GPS system. As a means 218 for adding, changing and deletinginformation units for example a CD drive may be provided, wherein theuser may add new management parts and/or information parts by insertinga CD into the system. The selection means 206 may be implemented assoftware, firmware or hardware and in particular as a standardprocessor, an ASIC or a programmable logic.

[0127] The information sources 210 a to 210 d are for example internetservers, CDs, hard disks, radio stations (analogue, DAB) or otherthings, wherein suitable devices for accessing the provided informationsources may include a hard wiring or a radio transmission. Aninformation source (e.g. 210 a) is for example a CD changer, which ishard wired with the selection means, while the other information sources(e.g. 210 d) are formed by external data bases coupled to the selectionmeans via a radio connection.

[0128] Management parts (104, FIG. 1A), which are e.g. stored on aCD-ROM or a hard disk accessible for the selection means 206 are forexample implemented in one embodiment as an ASCII file with a suitablesyntax. Through a suitable input at a keyboard of the means 218, theuser may add additional management parts and/or information parts as anASCII file. A special software may be provided, so that the user mustnot know the special syntax of the ASCII file, but only needs to enternecessary indications of the management part and/or the information partto be added.

[0129] The position indication is preferably provided in geographicalstandard coordinates. The user may select the category preferably from alist of already existing categories or enter the same as a new categorywhich the system automatically adds to the dynamically generatedcategory tree. The user enters the reference indication in a formatwhich indicates to the selection means 206 where the information isstored. The reference indication may contain implicit indications as towhich protocols or decoding algorithms are necessary in order to accessthe information. Within the management part, however, further anadditional indication may be provided which indicates how theinformation part needs to be accessed. The indications about therelative importance and the maximum frequency of information may beentered by the user in order to define an additional order amonginformation of the same category and in order to control, respectively,how often information may be presented within a predetermined period oftime.

[0130] Via the input means 220 it is possible for the user to determineweightings regarding the existing categories within the hierarchicalstructure dynamically generated by the system. The categories are forexample organised in a tree structure. In the first level roughlyclassifying categories are located, like e.g. “music”, “restaurants” orsimilar things. Subcategories of a next level may be present for acategory of one level. For the category “music” for example thesubcategories “rock”, “pop”, “rap” or similar things exist, while forthe category of “restaurants”, the sub-category is “Italian”, “Japanese”or similar things exist. The user may allocate a weighting to thecategories and sub-categories of a tree structure during runtime. Theweighting of a sub-category may for example be calculated as the averagevalue of all weightings on the way from the root of the tree to thesubcategory.

[0131] Through the input means 212 it is possible for the user to enteradditional criteria for the selection means. The user may for exampleinput in which relation the present location of the user needs to be tothe location of an object for which information is to be displayed, sothat this information is included in a smaller selection. Theseadditional criteria may for example comprise the indication of a minimumand a maximum distance of the present location to the positiondetermined within the management part, so that for example onlyinformation regarding an object are output to the user which is locatedin a suitable distance. Additionally, the indication of a minimum and amaximum visual field opening angle may be provided in order to prevent,for example, that information about an object located in a backwardsdirection is output to a car driver. This may be achieved by indicatinga maximum and a minimum angle between the connection line through thepresent location of the user and the object position of the informationunit and the direction of movement of the user. Further additionalcriteria may include indications as to which output means are preferred,so that a car driver may for example set that only audio information ispresented in order not to be distracted from the traffic.

[0132] Through the input means 214 the user may turn off certain outputmeans 208 a, 208 b of the plurality of output means. If the selectionmeans for example selected an audio file with associated video data, theuser may turn off a screen 208 b in order to have the audio data onlyoutput via a loudspeaker 208 a.

[0133] During initialisation the device of FIG. 3, like for exampleduring the start-up of the system when starting to drive, the selectionmeans 206 receives access to the stored management parts of theinformation units, wherein the management parts are updatedintermittently. The selection means further receives the determinedpresent location of the user/system and the present direction ofmovement and the movement speed from the means 200.

[0134] Further, the user may receive changed weightings regarding thecategories of the input means 220 and the additional criteria of theinput means 212. The selection means 206 cyclically scans the managementparts within the memory 202 and determines with every run whetherinformation to be presented exist and outputs the same to the outputcontrol means. During the run time the management parts may be updatedby the means 218 (e.g. also via a continuous reception via DAB,internet, per radio, etc.), whereby the selection means 206 scansupdated management parts in the following cycle. Apart from that, theadditional criteria may be changed during runtime.

[0135] The above-described settings of the selection criteria using themeans 212 to 220 are already performed beforehand and may be changed bythe above-mentioned means.

[0136] In FIG. 4, the selection process within the selection means 206is described in more detail. The selection means 206 includes fourinputs 300, 302, 304, and 306 and one output 308. The selection meansfurther includes one means 310 for an examination using the managementparts, whether for one object all required location references are met.The means 310 is connected to the input 300 in order to successivelyreceive the management parts of all information units registered withinthe system. Via the input 302 the means 310 includes the presentlocation of the user and the part of the additional criteria indicatingthe location reference, i.e. indicating in which relation the presentlocation needs to be with the position indication of an informationunit, so that the information of the selection are considered, like e.g.the maximum distance and the indication of the admissible visual fieldopening angle. The means 310 only selects those objects which meet thelocation relation (see FIG. 4 at 312). As an example four informationblocks are illustrated referring to the objects A, B, C, D, meeting thegeographical selection criteria. The information units are let to atesting means 314 detecting a weighted category associated with theinformation and determining the information comprising the relativehighest weighting. The means 314 receives the weighting of thecategories for performing the testing through the input 304. The means314 consequently only advances those information meeting the locationrelation and comprising the relative highest weighting. In the presentcase, these are for example only two information blocks regarding theobject A and one of the objects B. The information is supplied to ameans 318 for applying additional indications of the management part tothe information. The means 318 receives the additional information fromthe input 306, like e.g. the before-mentioned relative importance of themaximum frequency, and only supplies the information to the output 308comprising the relatively highest importance and corresponding to theother additional information, respectively.

[0137] The information provided at the output 308 is advanced and theoutput control means 216 distributes the information to be presentedaccording to type to the plurality of output means 208, for exampleincluding loudspeakers 208 a and monitors 208 b.

[0138] The selection means may also scan and process, respectively, theselection of information in parallel, i.e. the processing of the storedmanagement parts. Further, the processing may apply the selectioncriteria within the management part in any order and extend it byadditional criteria.

[0139] The present invention provides a system enabling the provision ofinformation about object and abstract data, which are connected to alocation. The system may work autonomously without being dependent onwireless or wire-bonded data transmission. The description of theobjects or the abstract data is performed by the management parts of theinformation units. The position determination within these managementparts may be based on the geographical standard coordinate system.

[0140] The system evaluates a position indication provided by externalsources. This position indication includes a present location e.g. ingeographical standard coordinates and for example an indication of themovement direction and speed for example provided by dedicated hardwareor cooperating software.

[0141] The objects and abstract data for which information is to bepresented are represented by the management part. The management partsinclude for example a position input in geographical standardcoordinates and a hierarchically structured category indication. Furtherindications within the management part serve for a refinement of theselection process and for an indication of the information objects. Bycreating management parts and/or information units any objects orabstract data may be defined within the information system. The systemdetects present management parts and/or information parts automaticallyduring system start-up. Further information units may be added duringrun time. Using the known management parts, the information units andthe present location of the user, the selection is performed accordingto geographical criteria, like for example the relationship between thepresent location and the location of the object, and abstract selectioncriteria, like for example the category or the relative importance ofthe information. The selection criteria are basically freely selectableand may be adjusted in further areas.

[0142] The presentation of information is performed by playing audioinformation and/or illustrating further multimedia contents. The user ofthe system may influence many parameters of the selection and theillustration during runtime.

[0143] One concrete possibility of the use of this system is theinformation of a car driver during the drive, as it was described above,wherein however also possibilities of use exist, like for example withbikers or walkers. On one data carrier for example the management partsand the information parts are stored, i.e. the associated multimediacontents and the information-containing data, respectively. The systemwhich is for example implemented as a notebook server or an integratedpart of a car radio has access to present location information, like forexample through the car inherent GPS system or a dedicated hardwareconnected to a notebook. If an object, like e.g. a dome, is located in ageographically suitable place, i.e. the relationship between theposition of the dome and the present position of the car fulfils apre-set location relationship, and a weighting of the associatedcategory of the information object, like e.g. “sight seeing”, issufficiently high for the selection of this information object and theadditional criteria, like e.g. the relative importance or the maximumrepeatability are met, then the presentation of information (data) aboutthe object is introduced. When using the system in a car the selectionof audio contents with supplementing graphical and textual informationis recommended. The user also has the possibility to influence theselection process and the way of illustration during the runtime of thesystem, like for example through a special keyboard within the dashboardof the car.

What is claimed is:
 1. Method for presenting information regarding anobject from a plurality of information provided within a plurality ofinformation sources to a user or a presentation means depending on alocation of the user or the presentation means, the method comprisingthe following steps: Determining the location; Selecting a managementpart from a plurality of management parts, each of which comprises areference to one of the plurality of information sources, a positionindication and one or several pre-settable selection criteria, dependingon the determined location and on the one or the several pre-settableselection criteria of the plurality of management parts; and Outputtingthe information provided within the information source which thereference of the selected management part refers to, wherein theselection criteria of the plurality of information sources include acategory, and wherein a weighting value may be associated with eachcategory of the plurality of management parts, wherein the categoriesare organised in a tree structure and wherein a weighting is determinedbased on the weightings within the tree structure and wherein the stepof selecting comprises the selection of a management part from theplurality of management parts depending on the weightings of theplurality of management parts.
 2. Method according to claim 1, whereinthe reference within the management part refers to one or severalinformation sources in which the desired information regarding theobject is filed, wherein the information sources which the referencerefers to are an external information source or an internal data source.3. Method according to claim 2, wherein the category indicates the typeof the object.
 4. Method according to claim 1, wherein the selectioncriteria of the plurality of management units include a relativeimportance and a maximum repeatability.
 5. Method according to claim 1,wherein the selection criteria of the plurality of management unitsfurther contain an indication of pre-determined data additionally oronly enabling the use of the management parts as an information source.6. Method according to claim 5, wherein the indication contains a title,a brief description of the information which the reference of themanagement part refers to, and an address via which the furtherinformation may be ordered/fetched system-independently.
 7. Methodaccording to claim 1, wherein further management parts exist comprisingno position indication, wherein the selection criteria of the furthermanagement parts comprise a reference to general information sources,and wherein the step of selecting comprises the selection of a furthermanagement part if no position may be determined, no information sourcecorresponding to the geographical selection criteria is available or noinformation regarding an object is to be output for the location. 8.Device for presenting information regarding an object from a pluralityof information, provided within a plurality of information sources to auser or a presentation means depending on a location of the user or thepresentation means, the device comprising: means for determining thelocation; means for selecting a management part from a plurality ofmanagement parts each of which comprises a reference to one of theplurality of information sources, a position indication and one orseveral pre-settable selection criteria, depending on the determinedlocation and on the one or several pre-settable selection criteria ofthe plurality of management parts; and means for outputting theinformation provided within the information source which the referenceof the selected management part refers to, wherein the selectioncriteria of the plurality of information sources include a category, andwherein each category of the plurality of management parts may beassociated with a weighting value and wherein the categories areorganised in a tree structure, and wherein a weighting is determinedbased on the weightings within the tree structure, and wherein the stepof selecting comprises a selection of a management part from theplurality of management parts depending on the weightings of theplurality of management parts.
 9. Device according to claim 8, whereinthe reference within the management part refers to one or severalinformation sources in which the desired information regarding theobject is filed, wherein the information source which the referencerefers to is an external information source or an internal data source.10. Device according to claim 9, wherein the category indicates the typeof the object.
 11. Device according to claim 8, wherein the selectioncriteria of the plurality of management units include a relativeimportance and a maximum repeatability.
 12. Device according to claim 8,wherein the selection criteria of the plurality of management unitsfurther contains an indication of predetermined data which additionallyor only allows the use of the management parts as an information source.13. Device according to claim 12, wherein the indication contains atitle, a brief description of the information which the reference of themanagement part refers to and an address via which the furtherinformation may be ordered/fetched independent of the system.
 14. Deviceaccording to claim 8, wherein further management parts exist, comprisingno position indication, wherein the selection criteria of the furthermanagement parts contain a reference to general information sources, andwherein the step of selecting comprises the selection of a furthermanagement part if no position may be determined, no information sourcecorresponding to the geographical selection criteria is available or noinformation regarding an object is to be output for the location.